<p>Heh. Feeding the dragon… The “sunken gardens” are the centerpiece of W&M’s campus. They are not really “gardens” at all, but a grass quadrangle, a bit barren. Trees separate the lawn from the building facades (even the Wren Building is behind a stand of trees). For that reason, the sunken lawn at W&M loses some of it’s flavor as a college “place”, and becomes, well, another recreational soccer field.</p>
<p>Jefferson integrated The Lawn with the building facades–the Pavillions–and with the collonades. It all focuses the eye on the rotunda. In this, we have Jefferson’s philosophy: the library is the center of the Unversity, not the chapel–a radical idea for 1819. For UVA, it creates a real “place”.</p>
<p>Now, don’t get me started on the uselessness of rotundas. They are unique because they are rare. They are rare because they serve no function–nobody has figured out a way to use this architectural form. They force the underlying structure into a circular floor plan, which is one of the least functional floor plans. And, today, the Rotunda is nothing more than UVA’s “pretty face”. Classes, research, learning, lectures all take place, generally, elsewhere–out of view of Jefferson’s “masterpiece”. </p>
<p>WMrocks, I am a student of neither university. My oldest son is a 3rd year at UVA. I’m just helping you southerners while away the lazy August weeks before we all get busy with stuff…</p>